Andrea Celesti (1637-1712), Attrib. - Circumcision of Jesus

Andrea Celesti (Venice 1637 - Toscolano 1712) attributed - Circumcision of Jesus.

95 x 131 cm without frame, 98 x 135 cm with frame.

Oil on canvas, in a carved and gilded wooden frame.

- Provenance: Wannenes 2022, Genoa.

Condition report: Lined canvas. The painted surface is in good condition.

This talented artist's painting style was quite unique. Often, he didn't mix colors on the palette, as everyone else does; but by applying a strip of white lead, a strip of red earth, a strip of yellow earth, and other colors to the canvas, he united everything in the same painting and formed the details he had conceived with incredible felicity and a beautiful, tender effect. [...] The contours of Celesti's figures were not the most erudite; but his character was great, his strength beautiful, and the compositions of his works harmonious; so much so that he is deservedly considered one of the first Masters of that age' (Zanetti 1771). This description of the pictorial technique of Andrea Celesti (Venice 1637 - Toscolano ? 1712) is explanatory, whose modern critical success contrasts with the quality of his works, which exhibit a rich chromatic application of impasto, enlivened by a nervous brushstroke and fluid areas that the artist acquired from Sebastiano Mazzoni. Between 1659 and 1669, Celesti secured important commissions in Venice, and the appreciation of these works is evidenced by his knighthood in 1679-80 by Doge Alvise Contarini and his appointment as prior of the College of Venetian Painters in 1687. His subsequent activity was concentrated primarily in Brescia and the Garda area until 1700, when his presence in the lagoon city is again attested. The canvas presented here can be dated to his late maturity, based on its subtle modulations of light and the alternation between naturalistic passages and eighteenth-century refinements.


- This item is sold with a certificate of authenticity with legal validity.
- Further informations on the condition report are available upon request.
- All shipments are handled with professional packaging. The frame, if present, is to be understood as a gift and therefore its structural integrity during transport is not guaranteed.

*Please keep in mind that this work has not yet obtained the certificate of free export from Italy from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. This document certifies that the work is not part of the Italian cultural heritage. Normally the times for issuing certificates are 40 days from the date of the appointment: The new legislation in force from 2021 provides for shorter times at the discretion of the expert commission for declared amounts of less than € 13,500. All costs of this operation are included.